Windows news stories on Newser

Microsoft on Comeback Trail

Kevin Spak — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:50:14 CST

Believe it or not, 2012 could be the year of Microsoft. No, really. "I'll say it: I'm bullish on Microsoft in 2012," writes Farhad Manjoo of Slate . "For the first time in forever, Microsoft has a couple major products that are not merely good enough. They're just plain great." He...

Nokia Unveils New Windows Smartphones

Rob Quinn — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 01:52:59 CDT

Struggling Finnish phone maker Nokia is trying to make a comeback with a pair of new smartphones, Wired reports. The Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 are the result of an eight-month collaboration with Microsoft. The phones—priced at around $600 for the 800 and $380 for the 710—are "the...

Look Out, iPad: Windows 8 a Contender

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:00:24 CDT

Microsoft has skirted the problem it ran into three years ago, when its preview of Windows 7 was leaked to the general public, by "leaking" Windows 8—which will ultimately power PCs and iPad-rivaling tablets—itself. The preview of the operating system, first aired at a conference yesterday, was posted...

Coming Soon: Windows 8

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:13:13 CDT

It seems like only yesterday that Microsoft released Windows 7—and indeed, most of us haven't gotten around to upgrading to that version—but already, Windows 8 is nearly upon us. Web forums were filled with news and rumors last week after PC manufacturers and equipment makers got "early beta"...

Microsoft Planning XBox TV Service

Rob Quinn — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 02:43:00 CST

Microsoft is planning to leap back into the battle for American living rooms with a new TV service, sources tell Reuters. The company has held talks with TV networks about creating a TV service to be delivered through the XBox console, establishing a "virtual cable operator" that would charge a...

Microsoft Fixes 17-Year-Old Bug

Nick McMaster — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:34:00 CST

Microsoft will fix a bug that's enjoyed a longer life than most software firms in its February security update. The 17-year-old vulnerability, which first appeared in Windows NT 3.1, involves a utility that allows new versions of Windows to run old programs. The monthly update will fix 25 security...

Microsoft's Free Antivirus Software Actually Works!

Kevin Spak — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:00:54 CDT

Want a great, free antivirus program from a big software brand? OK, it’s from Microsoft, and … wait! Come back! Believe it or not, Microsoft’s new Security Essentials software is pretty darn good. AV-Test.org ran it through a bevy of tests and found the freebie performed admirably. In its...

Google Launches Web-Based OS, Takes Aim at Windows

Jason Farago — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:46:00 CDT

Google has doubled down in its battle with Microsoft. The search giant announced it is bringing out an open-source operating system, named Google Chrome OS, that looks to go head-to-head with long-dominant Windows. Chrome OS is Google's biggest push yet onto traditional Microsoft turf, reports the Financial Times , following free...

Tech Leaders Unite Against Microsoft

Nick McMaster — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:31:26 CDT

A technology consortium whose members include IBM, Nokia, and Oracle has joined the European Commission’s antitrust case against Microsoft, the Financial Times reports. The consortium, Ecis, joins Google and the Mozilla Foundation in accusing Microsoft of using Windows to distort the web browser market in favor of Internet Explorer. Ecis...